


AJ's First Chanukah

by JetGirl1832, tomatopudding



Series: The Hamilton Family Album [62]
Category: Hamilton - Miranda
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Chanukah, Family, Fluff, Holidays, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-12
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-14 05:56:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13001301
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JetGirl1832/pseuds/JetGirl1832, https://archiveofourown.org/users/tomatopudding/pseuds/tomatopudding
Summary: AJ's first Chanukah with his boyfriend Eli.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> No, it isn't Friday, you haven't lost a few days or time traveled. Surprise! It's Chanukah and so we decided to give you a little treat in the form of eight whole chapters of fluffy AJ/Eli goodness. As an added bonus, this fic actually takes place in Chanukah of 2017. Enjoy and Happy Chanukah!
> 
> Each chapter is inspired by a line in Sherri Lewis's song about the eight nights of Chanukah.

1\. Light the shamash and another candle too

 

If he was being honest, AJ hasn't really thought too much about Chanukah and the traditions involved. To him it was just another winter holiday, and he assumed it wouldn't be all that different than spending Christmas with his family.

But now he had a Jewish boyfriend--and even thinking that word still gave him a thrill--and Eli was eager to share various parts of his life. 

"I didn't know they made Chanukah decorations," AJ remarked entering his boyfriend's apartment.

"They are hard to find," Eli admitted.

"You seem to have done well," AJ remarked as he looked around. 

Eli had hung a large banner that proclaimed "Happy Chanukah!" in metallic blue letters on the wall over his electric fireplace. That was about the only thing AJ could recognize. Some kind of candelabra made multiple appearances as well as what looks like a spinning top of some kind with odd markings. 

"You look like a deer in the headlights," Eli remarked.

"Just a little confused is all," AJ replied, "I don't really know much about this holiday to be honest."

"I wasn't expecting you to," Eli smirked.

 

"But I'm very curious," AJ assured him, "and willing to learn."

Eli laughed, "Well, good. Because it's the first night of Chanukah and I'm taking you to my grandma's to experience the full Blumenthal Chanukah Extravaganza."

 

“Extravaganza?” AJ furrowed his brow.

“Come on, I promised Grandma I'd help her cook," Eli smiled, "which means you are going to help too."

"We are?" AJ's face paled slightly, his cooking prowess was not something he was exactly known for.

"It's not that scary, I promise," Eli scoffed, "Now let's go. Get that cute tuchus of yours into gear!"

AJ sighed but didn’t really put up much of a fight.

And actually, he liked Katya. Eli's grandmother was sassy in the way only elderly people could be because they no longer cared what people thought of them. She was also kind and sweet and had never made a big deal about AJ not being Jewish. 

He also found that he quite liked the nickname she’d given him of Sasha. Eli often reminded him that this meant he was on her good side.  
This was further solidified by the fact that Katya greeted AJ first when the two of them stepped through her door. 

"Dear Sasha," she said, holding his face between her hands, "I am so happy that you made it here."

 

“Hi, Katya,” AJ smiler, reminded of his own Grandmother in a way.

"Nice to see you too, grandma," Eli chuckled, swooping in to kiss his grandmother's cheek. 

"You I see all the time," Katya dismissed, "this one I only see on special occasions."

“Then I guess we’ll need to change that,” Eli laughed.

As Eli went to put something in the kitchen, Katya half dragged AJ to the dining room table. 

"Come, sit," she said, "you can help me set up the menorah."

"Menorah," AJ repeated. 

Katya placed a box of colored candles on the table, “Pick whatever you like but we only need two.”

 

"Why?" AJ asked, drawing two dark green candles from the box. 

Eli came in from the kitchen and went to stand by the table with them. 

"Every night, we add another candle," he said, "until we have all eight on the very last night."

Katya took the candles from AJ's hands and drew the candelabra--the menorah, AJ reminded himself--closer to her. AJ noticed that it had a tall central candlestick with eight branches, four on either side, that were all about an inch lower. Katya placed one of the candles in the far right branch. 

"The shamash," she said, holding up the second candle, "We use it to light the other candles, adding candles from right to left and lighting them from left to right."

"So what is the menorah for?" AJ asked. 

"It's actually called a chanukiah," Eli told him, "because it has eight branches. A menorah only has six. But everyone calls this a menorah, probably because it's easier for people to say."

 

"Huh..." AJ furrowed his brow.

"You'll catch on," Eli grinned, "I promise."

"Sha," Katya scolded, "it's time for the blessings."

Eli struck a match and lit the shamash in Katya's hand. She began to sing a series of Hebrew words in a gently warbling voice. 

"The first blessing talks about the commandment to light Chanukah candles," Eli explained in a murmur, "We say amen at the end of every blessing."

"How many are there?" asked AJ.

"On the first night there are three, but on the other nights there's only two," said Eli, "The second blessing talks about how god made miracles for our ancestors and continues to make miracles for us."

As the second blessing finished, Eli reached over to take AJ's hand in his. 

"The final blessing, which we only say on the first night, is a blessing that we say the first time we do something," Eli continued, "it thanks god for giving us life and for keeping us alive so that we could reach this particular moment of our lives."

"That's beautiful," AJ said, his eyes glued on he flickering flame of the shamash as Katya used it to light the other candle. 

When they were done lighting candles, AJ couldn’t help but look at them. They looked beautiful the way the colored wax began to drip down onto the menorah. 

 

After a long moment, Eli began to tug him towards the kitchen. 

"Come on," he said, "we've got work to do."


	2. Chapter 2

2\. Make potato latkes

On the kitchen counter was a bag of potatoes. An entire bag of potatoes. 

"Start peeling," Eli said, pressing a vegetable peeler into AJ's hand. 

"How many?" asked AJ. 

"All of them."

"All?" AJ asked weakly, "Really?"

"Trust me and get to work," Eli commanded.

AJ has been tasked with such jobs before, usually resulting in cramped hands and scraped fingers. But for Eli, AJ could be convinced to do just about anything.

AJ knew he’d heard the word before but he couldn’t remember exactly where. “What’s a latke?”

“Only the best culinary treat to grace this earth,” Eli remarked in a serious tone.

Eli couldn't help but laugh, "Keep peeling."

"Sir, yes sir," AJ said saluting with the peeler. 

In retaliation, Eli squeezed his ass just to make AJ squeak. 

 

Eli snickered before setting back to work, AJ hoped Katya hadn't noticed him blushing before continuing to peel potato after potato. As AJ peeled, Eli set up a mixer.

"Think of it this way," he said as he screwed some pieces onto the front of the mixer, "At least I have this grating attachment. Imagine having to grate all the potatoes by hand."

 

AJ crinkled his nose, “I’d be leaving right now if that was the case.”

 

Eli started taking the potatoes that AJ had peeled and cutting them into quarters before feeding them into the machine. Soon enough, they had a bowl full of grated potatoes.

AJ looked down at what was basically potato confetti, "Now what?" he asked. 

 

"Now, we squeeze," Eli said, "That's the only way to get really crispy latkes and, as anybody will tell you, crispy latkes are the best latkes."

He scooped out a handful of potato and pressed it between his hands, squeezing liquid into the sink. Once he was satisfied, he put the now slightly squashed potato into a fresh bowl.

 

AJ watched for a second before copying what Eli was doing, still not fully comprehending the purpose of it, and how it was supposed to make a latke better.

What he did comprehend, however, was that this was yet another tedious step in the process. He had never realized before just how much water was in a potato.

After a while his hands began to prune and all he could smell was potatoes.

"This had better be worth it," AJ grumbled, squeezing what felt like his millionth scoop of potato. 

"I promise it is," Eli said, pressing a kiss to AJ's cheek, "Thank you for being so patient. Now you see why I only do this during Chanukah."

AJ let out a sigh, “Yeah, yeah...”

"We're almost ready to cook them," Eli promised, "just a few things to mix in. Could you get me the eggs?"

AJ nodded and went to the fridge to grab the egg carton and bring it to Eli. 

Next, Eli took out an onion and deftly diced it. AJ always loved watching Eli in the kitchen, the way he held himself was completely different than he usually did and the speed at which he could safely use a knife was actually kind of sexy. 

Onion, egg, salt, and a little bit of flour were mixed into the potatoes. Then Eli set up a large frying pan with several large dollops of oil and turned on the heat.

“Let’s get frying.” Eli turned to him and smiled.

Once the oil was hot, Eli started spooning potato mixture into the pan, pressing each spoonful out to make them flat and round. The smell of the frying potatoes and onion smelled so good. Even better then when his mother would occasionally make hash browns on the weekend. Every time a latke was finished, Eli would replace it with a new blob of potato and soon there were latkes piled high on a plate, sheets of paper towel between each layer to soak up the excess oil.

AJ was just dying to try one, and they had so many surely Eli wouldn’t mind if he took one right now. As he was reaching for one, Eli smacked his hand away without even looking up from the pan. 

"Hey!" AJ pouted. 

"You have to eat them properly," said Eli. 

AJ gingerly rubbed his hand, "Well at least tell me we get to do that soon."

 

"Sit down at the table," Eli laughed. 

“Fine...” AJ replied dramatically.

 

Eli rolled his eyes fondly and finished up the last few latkes before turning off the stove and carrying the plate of latkes to the table. 

Katya had set out one of the largest jars of applesauce AJ had ever seen on the dining table.

“What is with the applesauce?” AJ asked.

"Grandma insists it's the best way to eat latkes," Eli said, putting the plate on the table, "I'm more of a sour cream man, myself."

“Okay...” AJ was still puzzled, “Well I guess I’ll try whatever you suggest,” he shrugged.

"Try both," Eli said, "form your own opinion. Like a real grown up."

AJ snorted and rolled his eyes. Eli served a few latkes to each of them. 

 

“What about ketchup?” AJ asked.

Eli looked as if AJ had just suggested putting whipped cream on caviar. 

"Or...not," amended AJ.

“Good choice,” Eli replied.

AJ followed Katya and Eli's leads, putting a dollop of applesauce on one latke and of sour cream on the another. Looking between the two, he went for the sour cream first. 

 

He'd had baked potatoes with sour cream before, so AJ knew that the flavor combination would work. What he hadn't expected was just how unique the flavor of the latke underneath was. The onions didn't really have a bite to them they simply enhanced the flavor of the potato, the taste of the frying oil wasn't cloying, and the edges were perfectly crunchy. 

“So good,” AJ sighed.

"What did I tell you?" Eli laughed.

AJ had a little more trepidation when going for the latke with applesauce. It just seemed like an odd combination to him. Surprisingly, it was just as delicious as the sour cream, although a little on the sweet side. 

"So? What do you like better?" Eli asked.

“I’ve decided to be a latke purist,” AJ declared.

Eli gave him a puzzled look, “A what?”

AJ snatched another latke and took a big bite, grinning around his mouthful. 

"I like them plain," he replied. 

“You’re boring,” Eli rolled his eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

3\. Spin a little dreidel

 

After they had finished dinner, Eli cleared the table and brought over some things. He had something that looked like it could be a spinning top, but the body was square instead of round, and several mesh bags filled with golden coins.

“Okay...” AJ looked at what Eli was setting out, “another tradition thingy? “

“One that your competitive streak will love,” Eli smiled.

“I’m not that competitive,” AJ pouted.

“Uh huh...” Eli laughed, “you sister has informed my if your family's ill-fated attempt at Monopoly.”

AJ sighed, “Mom took it to Goodwill the next day... but that it not solely my fault!”

"Flirt later," Katya said, "now, we play."

"Er, how?" AJ asked. 

"This is a dreidel," explained Eli, holding up the square-bodied top, "you spin it and what ever it lands on tells you what to do."

He slowly turned the dreidel, displaying each shape in turn. 

"It's in Hebrew," said Eli, "Nun, gimel, hey, shin."

"And how do you know what to do?"

 

"That's what I'm here for," Eli smiled, "and of course if you forget I can tell you again, anyway let's start with nun, pretty basic, nothing happens."

 

"Nun, none, nothing," AJ said with a grin. 

"You're so clever," Eli said in a deadpan, "nobody's ever thought of that before."

"You just don't appreciate my wit," AJ shot back playfully, "Come on, continue."

"Next up is gimel," Eli said, giving the dreidel a quarter turn, "and it's the opposite of nun. If you land on gimel you get it all."

"All of what?" questioned AJ. 

In response, Eli picked up one of the little mesh bags and shook it lightly. 

"And that is..."

"Gelt," explained Eli, "chocolate coins. Now, on to hey."

"Heeey," joked AJ with a wink. 

Eli snorted with laughter, “Anyway, that means you take half of the pile.”

 

"How do you get a pile?" AJ asked, "Do they all start in a pile?"

"No, when you start everybody gets an equal amount of gelt. At the beginning of each turn," Eli explained, "everybody puts one in the middle. That's where shin comes in. If you land on shin then you have to put an extra piece."

“Oh,” AJ replied, “well suppose this does make the odds a little more interesting.”

"Ready to play?" Eli asked as he began tearing open the mesh bags and splitting up the coins. 

"Ready," AJ agreed. 

"Since this is your first time I'll let you go first," Eli passed him the dreidel. 

 

It took AJ a few tries to actually spin it, but eventually he did. It wasn't a great spin, though, and fell very quickly. 

 

“What's that again?” AJ asked, looking at the dreidel.

"Shin," Eli replied, "that means you put an extra one in."

AJ frowned. "Dang."

 

AJ crinkled his nose as he tossed his coin in to the center, "I want to see if you can do any better."

"Watch and learn," Eli winked.

He prepared the spin the dreidel, but at the very last moment his flipped his hand and it spun upside down on its stem. 

AJ's jaw dropped, "H-how did you do that?"

"Years of practice," Eli replied, then leaned close and continued in a voice to low for Katya to hear, "Admit it, you're a little bit turned on."

AJ's face became lightly tinged with pink, "Oh hush."

The game continued on in a similar manner and AJ found himself getting better and better at spinning. Not that it helped him much, dreidel was really a game of pure chance. 

At one point there was a rather large pile of chocolate coins in the middle, so the stakes were quite high. The tension was growing as Eli, who was annoyingly lucky, took his turn. The dreidel spun and spun, AJ's hands tightened into fists on the table. All he needed was for both of the Blumenthals to get anything but a gimel. He was sure that he'd be able to get one his next turn. 

After what felt like forever, the dreidel started to slow before it finally tumbled over. AJ let out a whoop when he saw the nun and Eli let his head fall onto the table with a groan. 

"No chocolate for you," AJ teased, "I could still win this whole thing."

"Yeah, yeah," Eli rolled his eyes.

"So much for the supposed Dreidel Master," said AJ, nudging Eli's foot under the table.

“Whatever,” Eli rolled his eyes, “I still have plenty of chances to beat you.”

"You wish," laughed AJ, "I'm going to win all the chocolate and you won't get any."

Before Eli could respond, Katya let out a triumphant "Ha!"

While they had been distracted, she had spun the dreidel and now the gimel was staring up at them. 

AJ's face faltered slightly, apparently he wouldn't be winning all the chocolate and lording it over Eli.

"Good one, grandma," Eli said, only slightly disgruntled. 

"I might share," she replied, "if you're nice."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is a fun little Chanukah video to make your day a little better: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWcd-K8_X34


	4. Chapter 4

4\. Listen to the stories

After Katya had kindly split her winnings evenly between them all, Eli made some coffee to go with the chocolate. 

"So, are you ready to hear the reason behind all of this stuff?" Eli asked. 

He and AJ were sitting on the couch, their legs tangled between them, while Katya relaxed in a rocking chair. 

"I'm dying to know," replied AJ, wriggling his toes under Eli's thigh to keep them warm. 

“So like all Jewish Holidays it’s another, ‘they tried to kill us, we fought, we won, let’s eat.’” Eli began.

"Succinct description," AJ teased. 

"Do you want me to tell the story or not?" Eli raised one eyebrow. 

"Sorry. Go on."

 

Eli adjusted the way he was sitting on the couch slightly, “Well, once upon a time-“

“Hold up,” AJ interrupted, “you aren’t really going to start it like that are you?”

"When you're telling a story, you can do it your way. I'm going to do it mine," Eli shot back. 

AJ rolled his eyes, “Alright I’m listening.”

 

"Once upon a time," Eli repeated, "in the land of Israel, there was a Syrian king called Antiochus..."

\----------

Israel, over 2000 years ago

Yochanan let out a heavy sigh as he considered the news that had just reached his ears. As the High Priest of the great temple, it was his job to help lead the rest of his people and to keep them on the right path. The Jews that called themselves Hellenists had redoubled their efforts to bring the Greek and Syrian customs of the current royal regime into the greater Jewish community. Not only that, King Seleucus, who has generally left Yochanan and his people alone, apart from the one time he had tried to claim the temple's coffers as his own, had been killed and succeeded by his brother Antiochus. And now Yochanan was being removed from his position as the High Priest. 

It wasn’t looking good for Yochanan who began to worry about the fate of his people, as well as his own.

He’d heard the not so secret references to Antiochus as a madman, which was never a good sign for any sort of ruler.

 

Even as he was wondering about his future, the answer of who would be filling his shoes arrived. 

"Hello brother."

Yochanan's jaw clenched at the familiar voice. His brother Joshua, who preferred to call himself Jason and followed Hellenistic ideals. 

This was not something Yochanan approved of, but he was not in any sort of position to be able to voice his distaste.

“Joshua,” Yochanan nodded, he still did not need to address him as Jason.

This was not something Yochanan approved of, but he was not in any sort of position to be able to voice his distaste.

“Joshua,” Yochanan nodded, he still did not need to address him as Jason.

The other man raised an eyebrow, "Do you have a reason to remain here?"

Yochanan would not give his brother the pleasure of seeing his rage. 

"I suppose not," he replied, voice calm. 

“Then it be best you leave,” Jason replied, “lest something...happen.”

Yochanan easily recognized the thinly veiled threat against him, but held onto his pride.

"I wish you luck," Yochanan said shortly before turning on his heel to leave. 

He shuddered the think what changes his brother would impart. Silently, he prayed that the sanctity of the temple would stay intact through it all. 

\----------

"How do you not get all these names mixed up?" AJ huffed.

 

“Years of practice,” Eli smiled.

"And do they all need to have that sound in it?" AJ asked before demonstrating, making a noise he was clearing his throat.

"You mean the 'ch' sound," Eli laughed. 

"That one," agreed AJ. 

AJ then proceeded to try a fail making the sound himself.

"No no no," Eli said, placing a hand on AJ's calf, "No. Don't do that. You sound like you want to hock a loogie."

AJ let out a dramatic sigh, “Don’t I at least get credit for trying?”

"Let's continue with the story," Eli deflected, "We skip ahead some time and things have become even more difficult for the Jews. Their dietary and worship practices have been banned..."

\----------

It was becoming more and more difficult in the town of Modi'in, just as much for Mattityahu as for everyone else. At least he had the fortune of having his sons by his side. 

They helped provide him with a sense of strength to help replace his own that had started to wane in his old age. This was not a good feeling, especially during trying times such as these.

He and his people had been reduced to studying their religious readings in the dark of night, if they were very brave. Mattityahu knew that there were even those who had hidden themselves away in the Judean hills to study more peacefully. 

 

Mattityahu looked for the days that weren’t swarmed by terror and Romans. When they could just be, but for now that world was long gone.

 

As he was finishing his midday meal, Mattityahu could hear the sound of rushing footsteps outside. This wasn't a particularly strange occurrence, as the path to the main market square went right by his door. Any semblance of it being a normal day was broken by the front door being thrust open by one of his older sons. 

"Father," he said, his eyes wide and his face flushed, "come quickly. They're here, they're building some kind of altar in the market."

 

Mattityahu rose to his feet, "What kind of madness..." he muttered to himself as he followed his son towards the altar.

It was right in the busiest part of the town square, surrounded by a large gathering of people so it was not easy to get a clear view. The voice of the Syrian officer, however, was very noticeable. 

"Where is the high priest of this village? I demand he make his presence known!"

The crowd began to murmur, those closest cast their eyes at Mattityahu. 

"Show yourself!"

Slowly, Mattityahu began making his way to the altar with his son close behind. The crowd parted to let him pass and several people touched his hand or smiled gratefully.

Mattityahu coldly looked at the officer, “I am the man you seek.”

 

The officer crossed his arms and leveled Mattityahu with his own chilly expression. 

"You see the altar," he asked mockingly, "I'm sure that even you know how to use one."

"Of course," Mattityahu replied, "but if that is what you intend for me to do then I'm afraid I shall decline."

The officer's jaw clenched. 

"I didn't hear that," he said, warning in his voice, "why don't you try again."

 

"Then I will speak more clearly," Mattityahu replied, "I refuse."

The officer's nose flared and his face turned red, but Mattityahu wasn't finished. 

"I refuse," he said again, "as do my brother and sons. We have devoted our lives to the god of our ancestors and we keep our loyal promise!"

"We’ll see about that," The Syrian officer replied in low tone.

For a moment it seemed they had reached a standstill, a sense of calm before a great and horrific storm.

"Please," somebody said, breaking through the building tension as they stepped forward, "I will make the sacrifice."

In one swift motion, Mattityahu grabbed the officer's sword and killed the Hellenistic Jew where he stood. There was a long moment of utter silence and then all hell broke loose as the loyal Jews of Modi'in mounted an attack against the officer and his soldiers. 

It was chaos, and amidst the fighting and as the dust cleared there were bodies on the ground and the altar destroyed. While Mattityahu would have been pleased with that outcome, he'd wished this hadn't been the catalyst to achieve it. That, and once the word spread about what had happened in Modi'in, his life and that of his brothers and sons were now on the line.

 

And so he made the decision then and there, even as the fighting was barely completed, that they would have to run. They would join the others in the hills.

\---------- 

"This is a really bloody holiday," AJ said, "I mean, seriously. Do you tell this story to children?"

"Not all the details," Eli conceded.

AJ pinched the bridge of his nose, “Okay, continue.”

 

"Okay, let's see. So Mattityahu gathered together all of his sons and the rest of the loyal Jews of Modi'in and together they retreated to the Judean hills."

 

\----------

Judah was keeping watch as the sun rose over the horizon, the glow reflecting off of the surrounding hills. In the time since his father's death, Judah had been leading a small but powerful guerrilla force with the counsel of his brother Shimon. They had already fended off two attacks and now it had been quiet for far too long. To Judah this meant this would likely be the worst battle to come, and they needed to be ready for anything.

Sometimes, Judah resented his father for putting this burden of leadership on him. In his perfect life, he would be studying and learning not fighting and discussing tactics. However, this was clearly not the case, and those dreams were distant.

With one final look at the surrounding land, Judah steeled himself for the day's discussions. Apparently, some new information had come to light about the newest force that Antiochus had sent in their direction.

A strong army was headed their way, stronger than any they had faced before. Numbers in the thousands that made Judah feel ill at ease. They had been fairly lucky before now, clashing with forces that were close to them in number. But thousands? That was a group so much larger that it made their own seem nonexistent. While he never told these fears to anyone else, he couldn’t help but think this truly might be the end. He needed to be strong for his people and to keep the morale high. They had God on their side, and He had been known to do miraculous things. 

 

In the meantime, all they could do was try and be ready to face whatever was coming.

When Judah made his way to the meeting area a short while later, there was an argument already in progress. People were talking over each other, too focused on their own arguments to listen to anything else. Judah could pick out snippets here and there, but it was one in particular that caught his attention: "We're outnumbered nearly a thousand to one. Wouldn't it be easier to just give up?"

"No."

At the sound of Judah's voice, everyone went silent. 

"After all we've been through we are not giving up like that," Judah continued sternly.

"Judah," Shimon greeted, "I assume you've heard the news."

"Forty thousand soldiers," Judah confirmed, "but forty thousand soldier gathered in haste can still be undone by a small band of well trained warriors."

"We are hardly warriors," someone else piped up. 

"And yet we are strong," insisted Judah, "we have survived until now and we will continue to survive."

Shimon stepped forward, “We believe in you, and we believe our in our god.”

 

"So we fight," Judah said, "and we continue to defend ourselves and our people and our right to remain in those land."

Judah could see from the faces of those around him that he had won their confidence. 

\----------

"Hang on, 40,000 soldiers against their small group, that really cannot end well." AJ furrowed his brow.

Eli shrugged his shoulders, "Welcome to Jewish history, now will you let me finish? We're getting to the good part."

 

"Alright, go on then," AJ allowed. 

"I'll skip over some of the more specific details," Eli told him, "but suffice it to say that after several battles and skirmishes, Judah and the rest of the Maccabees defeated the large army."

"Maccabees?" AJ asked. 

"It's what the group of warriors was called," explained Eli. 

"Okay..." AJ nodded his head.

"It get's pretty dramatic," Eli added, "but in the end the Maccabees defeated the soldiers and were going back to Jerusalem."

 

\----------

The state of the Temple sent a twinge of pain through Judah's heart. Idols could be found in every corner and various accoutrements were broken, dented, or shattered. With those who had come with him, they held their heads high and began to clean it out in an attempt to put it back together.

 

They cleared away the idols and cleaned up the broken pieces until there was some semblance of order again. To the dismay of everyone involved, the beautiful golden menorah that had adorned the entrance hall of the synagogue was missing as was the main altar.

They lacked any other precious metals, but they had enough of some other cheaper ones they were able to make another. It was not as beautiful, but for now it would have to do.

 

But of course their problems were not through. The altar and menorah were built and the entire temple had been scoured for oil. Not just any oil would do, it had to be pure oil, blessed and sealed by the High Priest Yochanan. 

It would be eight days before there would be new oil, and they all began to wonder what they were going to do. Until amidst the debris one jug of oil was found, but it wasn't enough to be cause for celebration since it was only enough for one day.

"We'll light it," Judah decided when the issue was brought to his attention, "one day will be better than nothing and I'm sure that God will forgive us."

So they followed Judah’s instructions and lit the menorah, and it restored a little hope to their battered hearts. One day passed. Two days passed. Three days passed and the oil was still alight. To the joyous surprise of everyone, the oil remained lit for eight entire days. 

That was cause enough to celebrate, their own small miracle.

\----------

"So that's why we do what we do," Eli said, "eight nights of celebrating because of how long the oil lasted. It also explains why we fry latkes and jelly donuts."

 

“I guess that’s cause enough to celebrate,” AJ smiled.


	5. Chapter 5

5\. Eat chocolate gelt

"Ugh," AJ groaned. When he didn't receive any sort of response, he groaned again, "Uuuuugh."

Eli stuck his head out of the kitchen where he was cleaning the dishes from dinner. 

“What’s wrong with you?” Eli asked throwing the dish towel over his shoulder.

AJ responded by simply curling up into a tighter ball on the couch and whimpering slightly. 

Eli sighed and propped his hands on his hips. 

"I told you not to eat so much gelt," he said, "You know how you get when you eat too much chocolate."

AJ just let out a low moan, “It was just too good,” he pouted.

"Poor baby," cooed Eli, "Did you give yourself a tummy ache."

"Stop mocking my pain," AJ mumbled. 

"When will you learn?" Eli rolled his eyes.

AJ widened his eyes and stuck out his lower lip. 

"You're so lucky that I finished the dishes already," Eli grumbled good-naturedly. 

Eli then sat down by AJ who dropped his head down into his lap as Eli stroked his hair softly.

 

"You're lucky I'm a nice person, you big baby," Eli said fondly. 

"Ah, but I'm your big baby," replied AJ.

“Remind me why I fell for you in the first place?” Eli teased.

"I'm charming," AJ said, "and handsome."

"And humble," added Eli. 

“That too!” AJ nodded his head.

Eli chuckled as he leaned over and pressed a kiss against AJ's forehead.


	6. Chapter 6

6\. Get to dance the Hora

 

AJ must have fallen asleep because he felt himself rising back into wakefulness. His stomach felt a little better, although he was still a little bit queasy. The sound of piano music and a male voice singing gently filled his ears.

"Huh?" AJ said eloquently before realizing that the person singing was Eli.

He blinked a few more times as his vision came into focus. “What’s going on?” AJ asked.

Eli simply continued singing. It wasn't English, but it wasn't Hebrew either. AJ didn't recognize any of the words, but he thought that it must be Yiddish. AJ slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, his head swaying in time with the melody as he did so. Katya was the one playing an old upright piano that AJ hadn't noticed before in the corner of the living room, her wrinkled and veined hands sliding across the keys with ease even though her eyes were focused on Eli. 

AJ wasn’t sure he’d ever heard Eli really sing before. Of course he heard him occasionally in the shower, but this was different. When the song finished, Katya segued right into another one and Eli followed without blinking. AJ chuckled, which finally brought Eli's attention onto him. Eli's entire face brightened even as his voice never faltered.

"Why don't I get serenaded like this all the time?" AJ asked.

Eli simply beckoned with one finger, his hips moving in time with the beat of the music. 

"No," AJ said, shaking his head, "I don't dance."

Eli beckoned again, with both hands this time, and raised his eyebrows.

“No,” AJ shook his head, he’d never really been one for dancing.

Eli rolled his eyes and grabbed AJ's hands in his, heaving him up to his feet. 

"Eli," AJ protested, "come on."

“Nope,” Eli grinned “you are going to dance with me.”

AJ sighed but didn't resist, allowing Eli to make him start moving from side to side. 

"Put some hip into it," insisted Eli, swiveling his own hips. 

And AJ tried, he really did, but he hasn't inherited that trait from his dad apparently because even he could tell that he was pretty shitty at it. 

Eli tsked, "No, like this."

He placed his hands on AJ's hips and started manipulating them into a kind of figure eight pattern. Which was very distracting, by the way, especially considering that they were dancing to Chanukah music and, oh yeah, Eli's grandmother was in the room. AJ felt his face go red as he tried remind himself of that fact, and to think of other things.

“I think you’re getting the hang of it,” Eli smiled.

 

AJ didn't have as much confidence in his skills, but if Eli was happy then he was happy. Suddenly, the music changed to something that AJ actually recognized. 

"Hey, I know this!" he said, "it's the hora, right?"

"Hava Nagila," corrected Eli with a laugh, "the hora is the name of the dance."

"Doesn't matter what it's called, I can do a grapevine step," AJ shot back, demonstrating deftly. 

Eli laughed, “Very nice.”

AJ beamed proudly and repeated the movement until Eli joined him. 

AJ happened to glance over at Katya, who continued to beam at them as she continued to play.


	7. Chapter 7

7\. Give each other presents

 

Eventually, their dancing devolved into fits of laughter, evoked by a very sneaky tickle attack by Eli, and Katya finally brought the music to an end with one final flourish.

"Stop it!" AJ pushed Eli away, "you know how ticklish I am!"

"That's why I do it," Eli smirked.

"Don't be mean," Katya scolded. 

"I'm not!" insisted Eli, "He likes it, he's just being a brat."

"True," AJ agreed readily. 

Katya shook her head and sighed, “Well you ready for presents, then?”

"Of course," Eli said. 

At some point while AJ had been suffering from his chocolate-induced stomachache, Katya had produced two neatly wrapped packages. When she handed one to AJ, he was legitimately shocked. 

"I didn't get you anything," he blurted out, his cheeks flushing. 

"Your gift to me is making my Eliyahu happy," Katya told him, causing AJ's blush to deepen further.

AJ looked down at the package in his hands, the silver and blue paper topped with a simple white bow.

“Go on, open it,” Katya urged.

The package was fairly weighty and a nearly perfect rectangular shape. AJ carefully peeled off the wrapping paper. As he did he realized there was something familiar about the yellow and black cover of what was obviously a book. AJ couldn't help but laugh when he saw the title of the book: Judaism for Dummies.

“I figured it might be useful,” Katya smiled.

"Thank you," AJ chuckled, leaning in to give her a hug.

Katya smiled and hugged him back, “You’re welcome.”

Next, AJ gave Eli his gift. He'd agonized over what to get for weeks. They'd only been dating for about a year and he'd had trouble figuring out what would be appropriate. Nothing too expensive, but also something from the heart. Finally, he's settled on something that he'd actually heard Eli talking about before.

Eli began to tear off the paper and as he did so his jaw dropped, “No way...Guy Fieri’s new book!”

 

"I'm glad you like it," AJ said, unable to hold in his smile at the sheer joy on Eli's face. 

Eli still held the book close to his chest as he went to give AJ his gift.

It was another heavy package, heavier than that book and smaller as well. When AJ gets it open, he has to turn the item a few times to figure out what it is. It's a name plate for a desk, made of some kind of dark metal with a shiny, golden-colored placard that said "Alexander Hamilton Jr., Esq." AJ felt his breath catch in his throat. He was holding a dream in his hands, his name the way it would be displayed when he eventually got through the rest of his undergrad, law school, and passed the bar exam. It was perfect. 

“You like it?” Eli asked, “I wasn’t sure-“

“It’s amazing,” AJ nodded.

He pulled Eli into a tight hug and kissed his cheek gratefully. 

"I mean it," he murmured in Eli's ear, "that you so much. For all of this."

Eli smiled, "One day it'll have the place of honor on your desk."

 

Now all that was left was for Eli and his grandmother to exchange their gifts to each other. He handed her a small wrapped box. 

"Don't shake it," he warned, "it's fragile."

Katya gingerly took the box from Eli and began to unwrap it, “You really didn’t need to get me anything.”

"You say that every year," said Eli. 

"And yet every year you disobey me," Katya shot back, carefully folding the removed wrapping paper and setting it to the side.

“Only because I love you,” Eli smiled.

Katya shook her head fondly as she opened the plain white box that contained her gift. 

"Oh, Eli," she gasped when she peered inside, "it's beautiful!"

Katya picked up the hand blown glass dreidel that was inside.

It was filled with swirls of various shades of blue and green reminiscent of the Mediterranean Sea on a sunny day. The four letters had been somehow incorporated into the glass itself in a shining silver. Katya took the stand that came with it and placed it on the coffee table. She took both of Eli's hands in hers and brought them up to her lips for a kiss. 

"Perfect," she told him.

“Thanks Grandma,” Eli smiled.

"No, thank you," Katya said, giving his hands one more squeeze before letting go to grab her gift for him. 

It was a much small box than all the rest had been, long and thin. When Eli opened it, at first AJ thought that it was just a plain necklace chain. Then he saw that there was a pendant hanging from it as well. Eli smiled as he went to put it on adjusting it slightly and touching the pendant.

"What does it say?" AJ asked, frowning curiously. 

 

“It says chai,” Eli replied, “which means life.”

 

"Chai," AJ repeated, still having trouble with the throaty sound.

Eli chuckled, "Yeah. It also represents an important number in Judaism. Each letter of the alphabet has a number value and the letters in chai, chet and yud, add up to the number eighteen. People will often give monetary gifts that are multiples of eighteen."

"Huh..." AJ replied, "that's really interesting."

“Yup,” Eli nodded.

“Well I think it’s about time we cleaned up,” Katya sighed.

With three of them, the wrapping paper and boxes were very soon collected and cleared away.

“So much easier than Christmas with my family,” AJ sighed.

"I bet," Eli smiled.

"You'll have to experience it some time," AJ said as he picked up a stray scrap of paper from the coffee table. 

Eli slipped his arms around AJ's waist from behind, resting his chin on AJ's shoulder. 

"I'd like that," he replied, "A new experience."


	8. Chapter 8

8\. Gather with our family

 

AJ was very tired by the time they returned to Eli’s place for the evening.

“Cup of tea then bed?” Eli suggested.

As they waited for the water to boil, AJ wrapped his arms around Eli's waist from the side, pressing his cold nose against the underside of Eli's jaw. 

“You’re cold,” Eli mumbled.

“Which is why you will warm me up,” AJ snuggled in closer.

"You're lucky I love you," Eli sighed. 

AJ's eyes, which had been shut, flew open and he unintentionally let out a small squeak. 

"Ah," he said when he realized what AJ was reacting to, "Too soon?"

AJ shook his head mutely. They'd been together for about a year, it wasn't like he hadn't thought of saying those words before now. 

 

“No,” AJ replied blushing furiously, “definitely not, I’m good.”

 

Eli chuckled at AJ's flustered tone and pressed a kiss to the top of his head. 

"Thank you for coming with me, it means a lot," he said after a long moment, "It meant a lot to my grandma too."

“I had a good time,” AJ replied.

“Good,” Eli smiled, “because we have eight more nights,” he teased.

"Seven," AJ corrected jokingly, "we already had one and there are eight total."

Eli snorted in amusement, "You've got me there."

AJ smiled back at Eli, “Anyway, it was a lot of fun.”

Eli pulled AJ even closer than he already was. 

"I'm glad you enjoyed," he said, "Being with family is the most important part of any holiday and you're part of that now."

AJ felt his cheeks heating up again and he hid his face further against the crook of Eli's neck.

The two of them sat like that for a moment neither one of them making a move.


End file.
